I think about Peter Ramondetta often. I love that he bowed out quietly and respectfully—very much reflective of his personality. It’s my understanding that he did so on his own accord, with no threat of losing his pro models or sponsors. He simply felt it was time to retire and build a life after skateboarding back home in Oklahoma.
But, like many of us, I also still wish he was in the mix, skating and stuff. So I pulled two pieces I wrote on Peter for The Skateboard Mag (a 2007 interview and a Maloof Money Cup '2009 contest article mostly about Peter and barely about the contest, much to the dismay of my editors) and added some unseen bits along with some sequences I shot, and repurposed 'em here.
My friend (I'd even call him a mentor although he doesn’t know it) Justin Regan once told me of skateboarding contests:
“You don’t have to win—you just have to be memorable.”
I always felt that; I’d just never found the words.
We’ve all seen it. Every event has something just as special, or more special, than the podium itself. Think Dylan’s impossible over the barrier while leaving the course for a smoke or Riley Pavey’s 50-50 pants drop at SLS. Or T-Funk’s footplant Gatorade cooler smash to transition tsunami & Jamie Foy’s first try gap tre flip lip at Tampa Am. Or Leo Romero’s mind blowing noseblunt/nosegrind side show up the grass gap at Maloof Money Cup in 2008.
That was Peter Ramondetta on the final night of Maloof Money Cup 2009. Part of me always wondered if it was retribution from when he got injured during the same contest the year before and couldn't skate the finals.
Whatever it was, while usual contest suspects like Sheckler, Lutzka, Nyjah, Cole, Chaz Ortiz and Paul Rodriguez did their usual contest suspect things … systemically hucking their respective signature, reliable bangers down rails, stairs and hubbas—barely rolling away before stepping off, popping up their board and frantically rushing back up the stairs for more points, Peter was on some other shit.
Have you ever heard “Baby Please Don’t Leave Me” by Buddy Guy? It’s slow and steady and menacing and massive. There’s no empty space—it's just a wall of sound. A sonic hurricane.
That was Peter. Sweating and gasping for air and slamming and puking and just flat-out murdering the course in all directions. His crew was screaming his name at throat-abrasing volumes, "FUCK YEAH PETER!" As if to signal to the rest of us, “Forget all these guys doing that boring shit, this guy over here is the moment.”
It was the slow-motion sock to the face we needed, during a circus-like event thrown in a circus-like region by circus-like cigar-smoking casino and sports team owners, to remind us what skateboarding really is.
Unrelenting and in his own world—enduring self-inflicted beatings, yet conquering trick after trick. Peter skated in a way that seemed to shout, “Fuck you skateboarding, I love you.”
“Peter is a totally normal guy who’ll stand next to you, talk quietly about whatever, laugh at a few jokes, kick around the park with you and you feel like, ‘Hey he's human. He's like me.’
"Then you see him bust and it’s like, ‘Holy shit where did that come from?’ And not in a totally aggro ‘Look at how big I’m going’ way. It’s subtle and natural. It’s clean and almost out of nowhere. And even though death is inches away, Peter looks like he could do it all day.
"I really don’t know anyone else who has what Peter has, but also carries themselves in such a solid, straight-up, ‘regular guy’ way. When some guys are going fucking huge, you see them get all amped up and something changes in their eyes. But Pete is even—just cool as fuck. He’s got the ‘I’m going to backlip this kinked fucking rail or I’m going to eat fucking shit—either way, what will be, will be, so fuck it’-type eyes.
"It’s subtle and huge. Like a freight train coming out of the fog and heading right at you.”
-Jim Thiebaud
What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever seen done on a skateboard?
I was there when Reynolds backside flipped Wallenberg. That was pretty gnarly. But when Frank bombed Taylor Street—his Cash Money Vagrant ender. We waited at the bottom of the hill and it’s no joke. Once you start doing it, you can’t stop. You just have to hope cars don’t come out and hit you. It’s like five hills and really, really steep. Then it flattens out at the intersection and right back into a steep hill. If you’re standing at the top you’re just like, “Holy shit.” It’s like a mountain you’re standing on.
Can you explain to us what an epileptic seizure is like?
I pretty much just black out. When I wake up I don’t remember the 20 minutes before it happened. I feel super fried and don’t know where I’m at. I usually have them after heavy partying when I’m hungover. I kind of know if I’m vulnerable and might have one, so I just stay home and chill on the couch or whatever. I’m starting to get a little better with controlling it—just watching how much I drink and taking it easy.
Does it correlate with diet or sleeping?
Yeah, if I don’t get a good night’s sleep, that can trigger it. When I push my body to the limit that’s how my body reacts.
Are you ever hanging out with everybody or skating and have a seizure? Do people know how to handle it?
You’ve just gotta wait it out. It usually lasts like 15 seconds, and then you kind of pass out for a minute and then start coming to. At first, my friends used to freak out and call the ambulance and they take you to the hospital and you’ll sit in the emergency room for a couple of hours, then they tell you to go home and drink water and rest. It’s pretty much a waste because there’s not much anyone can do.
One time I was just skating down the sidewalk and had a seizure, fell forward and split my chin open. Another time I was at an outdoor skatepark with metal ramps. It was super hot that day and I ended up having a seizure on a ramp and got third degree burns on my arm because I was laying on the metal for so long.
Sometimes I see epilepsy warnings on video games or at concerts. Do they affect you?
I think it depends how bad you have it. Once every six months I’ll randomly have one. But I’ve never been triggered from video games or strobe lights. I’ve been around them and it doesn’t bother me.
Is epilepsy genetic? Are you born with it or does it develop over time?
I was born with it. But you can get it from a head injuries too. The first seizure I ever had, they thought it was an asthma attack. When I had another they started running tests and realized it was epilepsy not asthma.
Who inspires you?
Rambo. I always get psyched watching Rambo movies.
Which is your favorite?
Probably the second one. A lot more action in that one than the other two.
Where he was head-to-head with the helicopter at the end?
He was in Vietnam, trying to save some POWs. Yeah, that was the good one. With the exploding bow and arrows. You can’t go wrong with that.
They had the screw-on explosive tips! I remember being so psyched on weapons as a kid.
That was groundbreaking stuff at the time.
What has skateboarding taught you over the years? Share some good advice someone’s ever given you.
Skateboarding gave me self-confidence because it was something I was good at. You can do it anywhere, at any time—all you need is concrete and your board and you can have the best time wherever you’re at.
As for advice, My dad said “Always stay true to yourself. Don’t let anyone change you.”